Shakespeares Champion Page 0,1

attached to a huge hand nudged one key out of the cluster. Bobo gave a jaw-cracking yawn.

"Thanks." I put the key in the lock, but as I did I felt the door move a little.

"It's unlocked," I said, hearing my voice come out sharp. I was now really uneasy. The back of my neck began to prickle.

"Del's already here. That's his car," Bobo said calmly. "But he's supposed to lock the front door when he's here by himself. Marshall's gonna be mad."

The gloom in the big room was pronounced. Shades still closed, all lights off.

"He must be in the tanning bed," Bobo said, and kept going across the room as I flipped on the central panel of lights with one hand. I reached for the ringing phone with the other.

"Body Time," I said sharply, my eyes ranging from side to side. Something smelled wrong.

"I was able to get Bobo after you left," Marshall said weakly. "He can stay, Lily. I don't want you to miss work. Oops. Gotta ..." He slammed down the phone.

I'd almost told Marshall something was wrong. But that would have been pointless, worrying him until I found out what was making the skin of my neck crawl.

I'd only switched on the central panel of lights, so the sides of the big room were still dark. Bobo had begun turning on lights and opening doors in the rear of the building. So I was by myself when I noticed the man lying on the bench in the far left corner.

I didn't for one minute think he was asleep, not with the barbell across his neck. His arms were dangling awkwardly, his legs spraddled. There was a stain. There were lots of stains.

I was scrabbling at the switch plate behind me, trying not to take my eyes off that still figure, when Bobo came from the hall that led to Marshall's office, the tanning beds, and the karate and aerobics room.

"Hey, Lily, you like Natural Morning Zap Tea? I didn't see Del, but I found this bag in Marshall's office..."

My fingers located the light switch for the left side of the room, and as Bobo looked to see what I was staring at, I flicked it up.

"Aw, shit," said Bobo. We both stared at what was lying on the bench. We could see it all too clearly now.

Bobo scuttled sideways until he was behind me, looking over the top of my head. He put his hands on my shoulders, more to keep me firmly between him and It than to comfort me. "Aw... shit," he said again, gulping ominously. Just at that moment, Bobo came down hard on the "boy" side of eighteen.

I had already encountered two nauseated males and it wasn't even seven o'clock.

"I've got to go check," I said. "If you're going to throw up, go outside."

"Check what? He's dead as a doornail," said Bobo, his big hands anchoring me firmly on his side of the service counter.

"Who is it, you reckon? Del?" Possibly I was stalling.

"Yeah, from the clothes. That's what Mr. Packard was wearing last night."

"You left him here by himself?" I asked as I began walking over to the body on the bench.

"He was doing chest when I left. He had his own key, to lock up. Marshall had told me that was okay. And Mr. Packard said he had a spotter coming," Bobo said defensively. "I had a date, and it was closing time." Bobo's voice got stronger and angrier as he saw he was going to have to justify leaving Del alone in the gym. At least he didn't sound nauseated anymore.

I finally got to the corner. It had been a long journey. Before I got there, I took a deep breath, held it, and bent over to check Del's wrist. I had never touched Del alive, and I didn't want to do it now that he was dead, but if there was any chance there was a spark of life left...

His skin felt strange, rubbery, or it might have been my imagination. The smell was not my imagination, nor was the lack of pulse. To make absolutely sure, I held my big watch in front of Del's nostrils. There were trails of dried blood running from them. I bit my lip hard, forced myself to hold still a moment. When I pulled my arm back to my side, the watch face was clear. I found myself backing up for the first two feet, as if it would be irreverent or